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Stigma (episode)
T'Pol's position on Enterprise is jeopardized when the Vulcans discover that she has contracted a mind-affecting disease. Meanwhile, one of Phlox's wives comes aboard and expresses a romantic interest in Tucker, much to his discomfort. Summary T'Pol learns that she has contracted Pa'nar Syndrome, a deadly neurological disease, from her less-than-voluntary mind meld with Tolaris the previous year. Phlox believes he can manage her condition, but he needs more information. arrives at a meeting of the Interspecies Medical Exchange on Dekendi III, where several Vulcan physicians named Oratt, Strom, and Yuris are present. However, Phlox must lie regarding his motivation for obtaining information on this disease; those who suffer from Pa'nar Syndrome are stigmatized in Vulcan society, because the method of transmission is a mind meld, which is considered a deviant act and taboo in mainstream Vulcan society. One of Phlox's wives, Feezal, comes on board Enterprise to install a neutron microscope, and begins flirting heavily with Trip Tucker. Tucker is uneasy that a colleague's wife is making overt sexual innuendo toward him. When the Vulcan physicians are skeptical of Phlox's interest in the disease, they arrange to meet with T'Pol and covertly gather some of her DNA, which shows she is infected with the disease. The physicians inform Captain Archer of T'Pol's condition and threaten to reveal her status to the High Command and have her recalled. They also rescind Phlox's invitation to the conference. Captain Archer is disappointed that Phlox and T'Pol hid information from him regarding her condition, but is more outraged that the Vulcans would destroy an officer's career due to a disease or how the officer expresses intimacy with others. The Vulcan physicians remain unaffected by Captain Archer's pleas for assistance and understanding. However, Dr. Yuris, the youngest doctor in the Vulcan delegation, covertly contacts T'Pol and gives her the research that Phlox had requested. T'Pol asks why he is jeopardizing his career and he reveals that he himself is a mind-melder. He is not infected himself – he tells her only a very small minority of melders have the illness. T'Pol tells Yuris that she became infected during a violation, and the physician suggests T'Pol tell the others this, that they will sympathize with her if they believe she contracted the disease through no fault of her own. T'Pol decides not to reveal the specifics for moral reasons, not wanting to justify their prejudice. Back on the ship, Tucker continues trying to avoid Phlox's wife while she continues to pursue him. Tucker asks Reed for advice, but Reed just suggests Tucker try to avoid her. He warns Tucker that Phlox has a real temper when he's angry, and strongly disagrees with Tucker's suggestion that Phlox be informed. Phlox reviews the research from Yuris, and tells T'Pol it's not a cure, but it will help his own research. Since he is more motivated than the Vulcan Medical Council in this case, he has hopes that he can find a treatment. The captain enters sickbay and tells them both that the senior doctor in the Vulcan delegation is a ranking member of the Vulcan Medical Council, and he has decided to recall T'Pol and take her back to Vulcan with them. The High Command will be informed of the situation when they reach home. Archer urges T'Pol to tell them she was forced into the mind meld. She says it doesn't matter how she got the illness, she won't condone their prejudice. Archer goes down to the planet and confronts Dr. Orat. Archer says T'Pol is entitled to a hearing under Vulcan protocols, and Orat agrees to hold one the next day. In sickbay, Phlox is treating Travis Mayweather for a sports injury when Tucker comes in and asks to speak to him privately. Tucker explains that Mrs. Phlox has been expressing an attraction to him. Phlox is delighted, and Tucker is very confused. Tucker says he was brought up not to fool around with another man's wife, and Phlox says that it's Tucker's loss. Archer tells T'Pol about the hearing. She is reluctant to participate, but Archer says this is her opportunity to defend the minority, and the unjust treatment they have been receiving from Vulcan authorities. She says she won't reveal the assault, and Archer assures he will respect her conditions. At the hearing, Archer says every Vulcan he's ever met told him Humans were narrow-minded and prejudiced, but now the Vulcans are showing even more prejudice. He argues that an enlightened culture has to embrace diversity. T'Pol tells the doctors they are just afraid. Dr. Yuris then declares himself to be a member of the minority, and says he has to tell another truth: T'Pol was assaulted. T'Pol refuses to confirm this. In sickbay, the Phloxes examine the new microscope and talk as Tucker stands by awkwardly, eventually leaving. The Phloxes laugh at the Human's inability to respond to her advances. In Archer's ready room, he tells T'Pol that Yuris has been suspended and T'Pol says that was to be expected. Archer says one good thing did come out of this – the delegation believed Yuris that T'Pol was infected as the result of an assault. She will not be recalled. T'Pol asks for Archer's permission to contact the High Command and speak on Yuris' behalf. He agrees, and she says she hopes this incident will encourage others to speak out. Memorable quotes "You can bet they're not coming up for coffee and donuts." : - Archer, on the Vulcans heading to Enterprise from Dekendi III "This is a bitch." "Excuse me?" "Oh, not you. Uh, heh, the – the microscope." : - Tucker, trying to operate the neutron microscope with Feezal s help "The accusation against T'Pol stands. It's not open for debate." "Where I come from everything's open for debate. And if I read these protocols correctly, so is the accusation you made against my science officer." "You're wasting your time." "It's mine to waste." : - Orat and Archer, on T'Pol's rights "Is it definitive?" "Unmistakably. She's suffering from the syndrome." : - Yuris and Strom, discovering T'Pol has Pa'nar Syndrome "I wanted to see both of you. It's been a while since I was embarrassed by a Vulcan dignitary." : - Archer, to Phlox and T'Pol "We don't condone the intimate acts that these people engage in. They defy everything our society stands for." : - Strom, on Vulcans who practice mind melds "Maybe I should tell the doc." "Tell him what? That his wife is trying to seduce you? Not a good idea!" : - Tucker and Reed "I wasn't exactly pulling your leg, was I, commander?" : - Feezal to Tucker "Well, I've got to get back to my warp engine. The plasma's runnin' a little hot." "I know how it feels." : - Tucker and Feezal "Don't you find her attractive?" "Uh, sure. I mean '''no', she's your wife!" "''What does that have to do with it?" "...she's your '''wife'!" : - '''Phlox' and Tucker, discussing Feezal Background information * The episode's strong undertones regarding HIV and sexual orientation are not coincidental. This was Enterprise s contribution to Viacom's HIV awareness campaign of early . http://www.kff.org/hivaids/upload/Media-Giant-and-Foundation-Team-Up-to-Fight-HIV-AIDS.pdf * Rick Berman commented, "They didn't actually say that they'd like us to come up with a story line. They invited us to a presentation that they had, which was quite impressive, that they asked all the producers on the lot to attend – which Brannon and I did. This episode depicts the Vulcan physicians as unwilling to supply research, medicine or preventative efforts in order to stop the spread of this disease simply because they don't condone the behavior of this Vulcan subset. Many in today's society believe that it is this kind of intolerance and ignorance that allows the HIV/AIDS epidemic to spread. In this case, the people are genetically capable of performing mind-melds. This is all something that would be different in the age of Kirk or Picard, but in our century there is definitely a stigma against people who go against normal mores and policies and attempt this very emotional and intimate act of mind-meld." yNF47XCalQz2I}} * Brannon Braga remarked, "We're not here to provide answers to questions. We're here to provoke thought about an issue. This episode stands on its own. Even if you don't draw the analogy, it's still an interesting episode, because it deals in general with prejudice. The metaphor will be clear to a lot of people." yNF47XCalQz2I}} * Some critics, such as John Ruch (of the Boston Herald) in an article archived here, felt that the episode was too vague in dealing with prejudice based on sexual orientation. * One of the written languages seen on Dekendi III is a reuse of the Vidiian written language from Star Trek: Voyager. Another language, seen on some of the banners in the Conference Center was the Andorian language developed for the ''Star Trek RPG'' supplement Among the Clans from Last Unicorn Games. (A different Andorian written language would later be introduced in Enterprise.) * The Dekendi ship that carried one of Phlox's wives was previously seen as a Ferengi vessel in . * The Vulcan PADD is a reuse of the Bajoran PADD, and the scanner is a modified modern-day computer scanner. * T'Pol's illness is not cured for another two seasons, in season 4's . * This episode marks the first appearance of Denobulans other than Phlox on the series. * In a interview, Brannon Braga commented that he thought this episode was "very strong." Concerning the way the episode depicts the taboo aspect of Vulcan mind melds, Braga stated, "To me, that's an interesting exploration of ''Star Trek and also tells us something about people who are ostracized." * This episode is very similar to TNG's episode The Outcast where Soren, a member of a androgynous race (the J'naii) is revealed to have been born with female attributes -- a quality treated as an aberration and criminal perversion in J'naii society. Soren is put on trial for their her crimes and makes a very similar diatribe to that of Dr. Yuris. Links and references Main cast * Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer * John Billingsley as Doctor Phlox * Jolene Blalock as Sub-Commander T'Pol * Dominic Keating as Lieutenant Malcolm Reed * Anthony Montgomery as Ensign Travis Mayweather * Linda Park as Ensign Hoshi Sato * Connor Trinneer as Commander Charles Tucker III Guest stars * Melinda Page Hamilton as Feezal * Michael Ensign as Oratt * Bob Morrisey as Strom * Jeffrey Hayenga as Yuris Co-star * Lee Spencer as Vulcan doctor Uncredited co-stars * Antony Acker as Vulcan official * Patrick Barnitt * Solomon Burke, Jr. as * Ken Gruz as Vulcan medical technician * Roy Joaquin as science division crewman * Mark Major as Vulcan official * Louis Ortiz as Vulcan medical technician * Monica Parrett as operations division crewman * Lidia Sabljic as command division crewman * Unknown actor as Vulcan official References accent; activation sequence; aperture ring; bigotry; blackberry cobbler; ''Black Cat, The; Bogga; ; coffee; condenser lens; Coridan; Council of Physicians; data chip; Dekendi III; Denobula; Denobulan language; doughnut; endocrine system; exercise bike; fargan; Forlisa; grammar; Groznik; gyrosphere; imaging filament; immune system; Interspecies Medical Exchange; ; Kessil; Klaban; ; midbrain; monkey-in-the-middle; neurolytic enzyme; neutron; neutron microscope; nucleotide; Pa'nar Syndrome; paranoia; pathologist; plomeek soup; prejudice; protein; psychiatric analyst; quantum filter; quantum optics; reflectometer; rose; subculture; Teerza Prime; thymic sclerosis; Tolaris; transitive verb; Vahklas; Vesna; Vulcans; Vulcan (planet); Vulcan High Command; Vulcan mind meld; Vulcan database; Vulcan Science Directorate; Vulcan transport Unreferenced material lacrosse; Sao Paulo External link * |next= }} cs:Stigma de:Stigma es:Stigma fr:Stigma (épisode) it:La sindrome (episodio) ja:ENT:消せない汚名 nl:Stigma Category: ENT episodes